ALAMEDA, Calif. — The last winless team in the NFL is having a hard time digesting the hard truth.

The Oakland Raiders’ 24-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals was another competitive effort against a potentially playoff-bound team, but they still ended the day 0-6 with their 12th consecutive loss dating back to last season. It’s their worst start to a season since 1962, when the Raiders opened with 13 straight losses before winning the regular-season finale.

“You can’t keep saying, ‘We’ll get it next week, we’ll get it next week,'” interim coach Tony Sparano said. “That’s not one of the things that works in this league. You have to get it when the opportunity is out there and we’ve gotten opportunities the last two weeks and we didn’t win the game.”

In Sparano’s first game replacing Dennis Allen, the Raiders fell 31-28 to the San Diego Chargers, who, like the Cardinals, came into the game with just one loss.

While Sparano’s mantra has been to disregard the first four games — he buried them along with a football in a ceremony at the team’s practice complex — safety Charles Woodson knows the difference between 0-2 and 0-6.

“I think it’s pretty much snowballed on us,” Woodson said. “You try to pull guys in the same direction as you, but it is something that’s inevitable a lot of times. This is as bad as you’re going to get through the first part of the season. We haven’t won a game. How much worse can it get than that, not winning a game?”

Woodson said he felt practices the last two weeks have been good, making the result that much tougher to comprehend.

“I felt really, really good about what we were doing coming into the game and we come up short,” Woodson said. “I don’t know how to take that, feeling that way during the week, and then coming in and not getting it done. I’m not sure where to go with it at this point.”

Defensive tackle Antonio Smith voiced similar concerns.

“Each week you’re going in trying to fix something, and each week you wonder why it ain’t working,” Smith said. “It’s like at this point, what can I do? What’s wrong? How do we need to change?’ “

Rookie quarterback Derek Carr’s solution is to block out any and all outside noise.

“You’re going to be praised a lot in this game, you’re going to be criticized a lot,” Carr said. “You’ve got to ignore both because neither matter. You’ve just got to keep your head down and keep fighting.”

Notes: Fullback Marcel Reece (quadriceps) was inactive and didn’t play for the first time in 46 games. . . . Defensive end Justin Tuck was inactive with a knee injury, with C.J. Wilson getting the start and Benson Mayowa getting 34 snaps worth of work. . . . Rookie linebacker Khalil Mack led the Raiders with 11 tackles and had three tackles for losses.

RAIDERS GRADES VS. CARDINALS

–PASSING OFFENSE: D-plus – Highlights were few and far between: a 55-yard pass to Brice Butler that set up the Raiders’ lone touchdown, and an 18-yard third-down conversion pass to Mychal Rivera. Despite ample time to pass, Derek Carr was 16 of 28 for 173 yards and wasn’t as accurate as he was in the previous week’s loss to San Diego. On a crucial third-and-7, Carr settled for a 3-yard gain to Andre Holmes.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: D-plus – The Raiders had 56 yards on 19 carries, averaging only 2.9 yards per attempt. Darren McFadden had a few nice runs, just not enough of them, finishing with 48 yards on 14 carries. He scored the Raiders’ lone touchdown on a 1-yard run. Maurice Jones-Drew got in for 15 snaps and carried three times for six yards.

–PASS DEFENSE: D-plus – Another week, another opposing quarterback with a 100-plus passer rating. This time it was former Raider Carson Palmer, who was 22 of 31 for 253 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He was 13 of his first 16 for 154 yards and both scores. The Raiders sacked the stationary target only once, a safety blitz by Usama Young. They collapsed the pocket enough to aid in Charles Woodson’s second interception of the season, which he returned 30 yards to set up a field goal.

–RUSH DEFENSE: C – The Cardinals averaged only 3.3 yards per carry so it wasn’t easy. Rookie linebacker Khalil Mack had three tackles for losses on running plays. Still, Andre Ellington had 24 carries for 88 yards, and Stepfan Taylor added 40 on 12 tries, and both runners were able to get key first downs and help achieve a monstrous advantage in time of possession.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: C-plus – A 60-yard punt return by TJ Carrie was negated by an illegal block in the back by Butler. It was exactly the kind of momentum-swinging play the Raiders needed, and didn’t get. Punter Marquette King placed three balls inside the 28-yard line. Sebastian Janikowski kicked field goals of 53 and 29 yards, with Matt Schaub replacing King as the holder. The Raiders bottled up Ted Ginn Jr. on punt returns.

–COACHING: C – The most important coaching is done during the week in shoring up weaknesses. The Raiders worked on third-down defense and offensive conversion as a point of emphasis and failed on both sides (Arizona was 9 of 15, the Raiders 4 of 12). The Raiders were penalized eight times for 74 yards, although some were dubious. The Raiders didn’t generate enough pressure on Palmer. Overall, not quite the effort the Raiders had the previous week against San Diego.